Moore, Levi Cast in Animated Rapunzel Movie

— by VANNA LAND —

Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi have been cast to provide the voices in “Disney’s” upcoming 3-D animated movie “Tangled.”

Moore will portray Rapunzel, known for her impossibly-long golden hair, while Levi, who portrays “Chuck” on the NBC series of the same name, has been cast as a dashing bandit named Prince Flynn. The two end up on the run from her former captor.

Nathan Greno, who also directed the “Disney” animated movie “Bolt,” shares the directorial duties with Byron Howard.
Prior to becoming a director, Greno was best known for his lead character animation on “Lilo & Stitch” and “Brother Bear.”

The movie will be a musical in the Disney “Princess” tradition, with music by Alan Menken, the Oscar-winner for Disney films “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin” and “Pocahontas.”

Disney has had this particular Grimm’s Fairy tale in the works for some time. Executive Producer Glen Keane has promised that the movie is going back to its literary origins, but will speak to modern audiences.

“It’s a story of the need for each person to become who they are supposed to be and for a parent to set them free so they can become that,” said Keane. “It will be a musical and a comedy and have a lot of heart and sincerity. I think that’s what Disney needs to do right now. No one else can do it. We should not be embarrassed or make excuses for doing a fairy tale.”